Screw-supporting attachment for the shank of a screw driver tool

ABSTRACT

This attachment has its end remote from its screw-supporting yoke formed of a pair of resilient wings embracing the shank of the tool and so formed that the attachment is not only longitudinally slidably mounted on the shank but is also readily tiltable through an angle which displaces the yoke clear of the screw merely by pressing a finger of the hand holding the tool against the rear extremity of the attachment.

United States Patent [191 Hanzlik 1 SCREW-SUPPORTING ATTACHMENT FOR THE SHANK OF A SCREW DRIVER TOOL [76] Inventor: William M. Hanzlik, Route 3,

Brewster, NY. 10509 [22] Filed: July 23, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 165,467

[52] US. Cl ..l45/52 [51] Int. Cl ..B25b 15/02, B25b 23/08 [58] Field of Search 481/125; 145/50 D,

. 145/50 DB, 50 F, 52

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1934 Morgan ..l45/52 1 51 'May 1,1973

1,558,267 10/1925 McGuckin ..8l/l25 Primary Examiner0the1l M. Simpson Assistant Examiner-Mark S. Bicks Attorney-Frank Ledermann 5 7] 7 ABSTRACT This attachment has its end remote from its screw-supporting yoke formed of a pair of resilient wings embracing the shank of the tool and so formed that the attachment is not only longitudinally slidably mounted on the shank but is also readily tiltable through an angle which displaces the yoke clear of the screw merely by pressing a finger of the hand holding the tool against the rear extremity of the attachment.

2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Patented May 1 1973 INVENTOR. WILLIAM M. HANZLIK I06 F IG.5

ATTORNEY SCREW-SUPPORTING ATTACHMENT FOR THE SHANK OF A SCREW DRIVER TOOL Referring briefly to the accompanying drawing, FIG. 1 is a side view of a screw driver tool having the instant attachment mounted thereon, showing in full lines the attachment supporting a screw in the bit of the tool shank, and showing in phantom, at an exaggerated angle, the holder tilted to clear its screw-supporting end away from the screw.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the attachment per se.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1, partly broken away and partly in section, showing the attachment applied to the shank of a tool which has its operative end formed into a socket receptive of the complementary head of a screw, or screw bolt.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral designates the shank of a screw driver tool which, in FIG. 1, is shown having a bit 11 registering in the kerf or slot, not shown, ofa screw 12.

The instant attachment 13 includes an elongated body 14, concavo-convex in cross-section, having at its outer end, substantially at right angles thereto, a yoke 15 whose two arms 16 have their juxtaposed inner edges 17 mutually divergent. It is thus apparent that this yoke may readily engage screw stems of varying diameters.

At the end of the body 14 remote from the yoke 15, which may be termed the rear end of the body, is an approximately U-shaped grip formed of two complementary wings 18extending from the side walls 19 of the body. As the whole attachment is made of springy material, these two wings are normally urged to clamp against any object between them which tends to spread them apart, and they are shown in the shape of frames having openings 21 therethrough. The openings or cutouts 21 are mutually aligned, with each of the wings or frames 18 having a front upstanding member 22 and a rear upstanding member 23, the term upstanding being here used merely as it applies to the various figures of the drawing. The two front members 22 have opposed outwardly extending deformations or bulges 24 which are arcuate in cross-section and dimensioned to form complementary grooves in their opposed inner surfaces, the tool shank registering slidably and frictionally in these grooves which extend substantially parallel with the lower edge of the body. Thus, as is clear in FIG. I, with the attachment positioned as shown in full lines with the shank being clamped between the two grooves the yoke 15 is held in alignment with the shank to properly support the screw.

The two rear frame members 23 are approximately or substantially mutually parallel and the distance between them is such that at whatever position the shank lies between them (either that shown in full lines or that shown in broken lines in FIG. 1) the members 23 are in frictional contact with the shank. It is thus apparent that the attachment 13 is, when in the position shown in full lines in FIG. 1, readily longitudinally slidable on the shank. Owing to the resiliency of the wings 20, it is obvious that the attachment may also be tilted, by application of a finger of the hand holding the tool, as shown in FIG. 4, to the lower rear end 25 of the body 14, into the position shown in broken lines. The pressure thus applied will cause the front wing members 22 to separate sufficiently to permit the device to be tilted, duringwhich action the rear frame members 23 slide frictionally upward against the sides of the shank.

The utilization of the instant attachment to support a screw for initiating registration of the screw into a receiving body or hole, is obvious. After the screw has thus been-securely started into a hole, the device 13 is tilted clear of the screw and screw driver bit by merely applying the finger pressurementioned above. Since the finger thus applied may be and preferably is on the hand that is holding the too], there is no need for a twohand operation to clear the yoke from the inserted screw, which of course would be necessary if the device lacked the disclosed feature of tiltability.

FIG. 4 shows a screw 12a having its hexagonal head registering in a complementary socket 11a formed in the end of the shank 10a. It is of course apparent that the instant attachment is equally well adapted to both forms of screw driving tools, that is, those provided with a bit to register in the kerf of a screw, and those provided with a socket in which the complementary head of a screw or screw bolt is registrable.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A screw-supporting attachment for the shank of a screw driver,tool, consisting of an elongated body having at the front end thereof a yoke extending at substantially right angles thereto and at the rear end thereof an approximately U-shaped grip formed of two opposed wings of springy material extending from the sides of said body in the same general direction as said yoke, the arms of said yoke having their juxtaposed inner edges mutually divergent, said wings having in the front-facing portions thereof opposed complementary grooves extending substantially parallel with said body, said attachment being adapted to be slidably mounted in a first position on said shank with said shank registering between said grooves and hence extending substantially parallel with said body, said yoke being adapted to support a screw in a position of alignment with said shank for operation of the shank upon the screw, said wings having additional means for positioning said body at an angle to said shank with said yoke spaced clear of the screw thereby mounting said attachment in a second positionon said shank.

2. A screw-supporting attachment for the shank of a screw driver tool, consisting of an elongated body hav-- ing at the front-end thereof a yoke extending at substantially right angles thereto and at the rear end thereof a substantially U-shaped grip including two opposed wings of springy material extending from said body in the same general direction as said yoke and substantially at right angles to the plane of said yoke, said wings having mutually aligned openings therethrough whence said wings represent frames which include a pair of mutually opposed front-facing members and a pair of mutually opposed rear-facing members, said front-facing members having mutually opposed complementary grooves substantially parallel with said'body, said shank being adapted to register frictionally and longitudinally slidably between said grooves with said yoke positioned substantially in alignment with said shank; said rear-facing members being mutually parallel, said attachment being adapted to be tilted at an angle to said shank to remove said yoke out of alignment with said shank by exerting pressure against the rear end of said body in a direction toward said shank thereby disengaging the shank from said 5 grooves while the shank remains frictionally engaged between said wings. 

1. A screw-supporting attachment for the shank of a screw driver tool, consisting of an elongated body having at the front end thereof a yoke extending at substantially right angles thereto and at the rear end thereof an approximately U-shaped grip formed of two opposed wings of springy material extending from the sides of said body in the same general direction as said yoke, the arms of said yoke having their juxtaposed inner edges mutually divergent, said wings having in the front-facing portions thereof opposed complementary grooves extending substantially parallel with said body, said attachment being adapted to be slidably mounted in a first position on said shank with said shank registering between said grooves and hence extending substantially parallel with said body, said yoke being adapted to support a screw in a position of alignment with said shank for operation of the shank upon the screw, said wings having additional means for positioning said body at an angle to said shank with said yoke spaced clear of the screw thereby mounting said attachment in a second position on said shank.
 2. A screw-supporting attachment for the shank of a screw driver tool, consisting of an elongated body having at the front end thereof a yoke extending at substantially right angles thereto and at the rear end thereof a substantially U-shaped grip including two opposed wings of springy material extending from said body in the same general direction as said yoke and substantially at right angles to the plane of said yoke, said wings having mutually aligned openings therethrough whence said wings represent frames which include a pair of mutually opposed front-facing members and a pair of mutually opposed rear-facing members, said front-facing members having mutually opposed complementary grooves substantially parallel with said body, said shank being adapted to register frictionally and longitudinally slidably between said grooves with said yoke positioned substantially in alignment with said shank; said rear-facing members being mutually parallel, said attachment being adapted to be tilted at an angle to said shank to remove said yoke out of alignment with said shank by exerting pressure against the rear end of said body in a direction toward said shank thereby disengaging the shank from said grooves while the shank remains frictionally engaged between said wings. 